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Issue 75, 16 April 2012 Footy tipping For a long-term investor, I find watching the stock market much like watching an exciting game of footy; it's gut-wrenching when your team is in the doghouse, but there's no better feeling when it storms home. But there's more similarities and I talk about those in my note today. Also in the Switzer Super Report, George Boubouras names two energy stocks that suit SMSFs and Paul Rickard updates you with the best term deposit rates. We also tell you about two free services that can help your fund stay compliant. Plus, we have our regular chart of the week and broker wrap of stock recommendations. Enjoy the game.

Sincerely, Peter Switzer Inside this Issue Two free services that help your SMSF stay compliant by Tony Negline 08 02 What do stocks and footy have in common? by Peter Switzer How the punters expect this game to turn out. 04 Two energy stock recommendations for SMSFs by George Boubouras These two stocks offer the best of both worlds. 06 The top term deposits for your SMSF by Paul Rickard An interest rate cut has been priced in for May. 08 Two free services that help your SMSF stay compliant by Tony Negline It's often difficult to interpret the super laws correctly. 10 The broker wrap: four stock buys vs five sells by Rudi Filapek-Vandyck Companies are reaching their price targets. 12 Chart of the week: will the DAX keep falling? by Lance Lai What the chart predicts for this index. Switzer Super Report is published by Switzer Financial Group Pty Ltd AFSL No. 286 531 36-40 Queen Street, Woollahra, 2025 T: 1300 SWITZER (1300 794 8937) F: (02) 9327 4366 Important information: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. For this reason, any individual should, before acting, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to the individual's objectives, financial situation and needs and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.

What do stocks and footy have in common? by Peter Switzer Watching the stock market for an SMSF investor is a bit like watching a game of footy and that’s the way I see the market playing out this year. To steal a footy term and butcher it a bit, the market will be a game of three-thirds – not two halves. We have had the first third, which was a great sequence of play, especially in the US. Even now with Wall Street off its early highs, the Dow is up 5.17% while the S&P 500 is still up 8.96% since the start of the year. That’s sensational given we have seen two down weeks in a row and anyone would be happy if their portfolio was up 8.96% in three months. At home, our ASX200 is up 6.57%.

The second third Why wouldn’t some investors be selling now and waiting for October to get back into the market when the Yanks have their typical Santa Claus rally, especially when November will bring the end of speculation of who will be their president for the next four years. But in between we have the “sell in May and go away” challenge to deal with up until October and there are plenty of worrying issues that could make many stock players take their money and head for the hills. I think the biggest worry is Spain pushing bond yields up towards 6%. We had hoped that the European Central Bank (ECB) had sorted out a lot of Europe’s debt default concerns by lending a trillion euro to EU banks for 1% for three years. The EU has built up its arsenal of funding for bailouts to a seriously high level, and this is meant to be good enough to buy some time for European governments carrying big debt issues.

That will be the test over the next two months and how this plays out will have a big bearing on what happens post-May. Positive factors One interesting positive will be the Facebook float, which will be the biggest initial public offer (IPO) in history and that could bring a lot of new money into the US market, with the good sentiment hopefully rubbing off here. Also, oil prices are falling and that could stimulate global stocks. This could be assisted by the Chinese, who could easily loosen up monetary policy to try to get some more economic growth after their latest gross domestic product (GDP) figure came in lower than expected over the weekend at 8.1% compared with an 8.3% expectation. By the way, growth in the last quarter of 2011 was 8.9% and so we are seeing a slowdown, though it is still above China’s target growth of 7.5%.

Meanwhile, the US economy and company earnings could still surprise on the high side and I was enthused by Goldman Sachs guru, Abby Joseph Cohen, who indicated on CNBC that earnings for some key companies in the United States could surprise on the high side. She talked about some areas of “significant surprise” on the positive side and the Yanks are even talking about a spring bounce back for house prices. Experts point to the recent jobs surge, cheap loans, low home prices and higher consumer confidence as reasons why house prices could start to rise. Footy tipping If the Yanks were a footy team, I would predict it to lose momentum in the second-third period but come home strong in the final period. And because our Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) should cut interest 02

rates a couple of times this year, especially with China’s growth slowing, I reckon our market could end up having a pretty good finish as well. One final point has to be made for the long-term investor – we will eventually have a big bounce and that’s when those who buy great companies will get their big payday. As Rod Stewart’s ex-wife, Rachel Hunter, once said of a shampoo’s ability to rejuvenate someone’s hair, “It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.” Important information: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. For this reason, any individual should, before acting, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to the individual’s objectives, financial situation and needs and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice. 03

Two energy stock recommendations for SMSFs by George Boubouras Energy is a core theme for a portfolio; there is no doubt about that. Exposure to the sector can be via many listed entities, but both AGL Energy and Origin Energy are two core exposures that should be considered for your self-managed super fund (SMSF). AGL Energy AGL Energy tends to be a little more defensive than Origin Energy as it has a low beta (around 0.65) versus the broader ASX200 Index. It is more likely to feature in a defensive income portfolio. This should be no surprise given the core business model is to sell and distribute gas and electricity to both wholesale and the largest retail client base in the local market. Despite being a defensive stock for your portfolio, AGL Energy did underperform the utility sector in 2011 due to a number of factors, including softer electricity demand and some poor hedging that impacted earnings. Missing out on electricity privatisation in NSW was another. A positive in the longer term was the Loy Yang A Power acquisition (AGL Energy’s bid to acquire 100% stake of Victoria’s largest brown coal station), which would clearly secure generating capacity in the decades ahead at a price that appears competitive versus previous valuations (just ask previous long-term equity owner Tokyo Electric). While the regulator requires more information on this acquisition, it remains the most likely outcome (and consistent with other acquisitions in recent years). However, if there is a significant delay, then this would have an impact.

The key going forward for investors is that the company’s retail customer base is growing and that ultimately, the earnings tend to be defensive with the stock outperforming when the broader equity market is soft. They do, however, need to maintain their margins from both their retail and wholesale businesses while maintaining costs. The strong performance of the cyclical sectors of the market year-to-date may suggest becoming a little more defensive again. In short, AGL Energy ticks the right boxes.

Origin Energy Origin Energy is a little different. It is an integrated oil and gas producer, electricity and renewable power generator, energy retailer and a large producer of coal seam gas locally. Broadly, it has less exposure to a retail customer base and has a larger capital expenditure requirement in its business versus AGL Energy. Origin Energy’s business is a little less defensive as a consequence. Origin Energy has a beta closer to one, well above AGL Energy’s 0.65. So it is a little more volatile over the cycle, and offers a lower dividend yield versus AGL Energy, but it does have a greater leveraged upside in earnings. Therefore, Origin Energy would be suitable for a more growth orientated SMSF than AGL Energy. The chart below shows the performance of AGL Energy, Origin Energy and the broader equity market (ASX300 Accumulation) over the past year. This compares performance versus levels a year ago. One can clearly see the most defensive – AGL Energy – has outperformed both the more cyclical Origin Energy and the broader equity market. This should be no surprise given that defensive stocks generally performed well in 2011.

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In summary AGL Energy is your defensive/income exposure for 2012 and Origin Energy can add that little more leverage to future earnings and be part of your higher conviction energy exposure. You get the best of both with these two stocks. George Boubouras is the Head of Investment Strategy & Consulting at UBS Wealth Management. Important information: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. For this reason, any individual should, before acting, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to the individual’s objectives, financial situation and needs and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice. 05

The top term deposits for your SMSF by Paul Rickard An interest rate cut on Tuesday 1 May of 0.25% is a foregone conclusion – even the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is not deaf to the concerted campaign being mounted by ‘old world’ interested parties to get them to act. That said, and despite all the noise, I am not convinced that there are many more to come after this, and still believe that by the end of the year, interest rates will be heading higher again. Since I made this call in early January (when some of the interest rate bulls were factoring in four cuts this year – read How low with the RBA go), the professional interest rate markets have been fairly flat. Long-term bond rates have risen a little and short-term bank-bill rates have fallen a smidge, with the net effect that the yield curve has steepened. For the term deposit investor, where there is the added risk of the spread (or premium) that banks will pay to attract ‘retail’ funds, there has been little overall change. The following table shows the average term deposit (TD) rates for the four MTBs (major banks) as at 6 January and 13 April: Note: For term deposits of more than $50,000, with interest on three- and six-month TDs paid on maturity, interest paid annually on one-year and five-year terms.

With 90-day and 180-day bank-bill rates now down to 4.23% and 4.25% respectively, the professional markets have fully priced in the expected rate cut by the RBA. Term deposit investors shouldn’t be concerned about this move because this is already priced into the rates being offered by the banks. It is interesting to note the range in rates being offered by the banks for different terms deposits. This is occurring despite the existence of the $250,000 Government Guarantee, which operates on a per client per institution basis. For example, an SMSF could have $250,000 on deposit with Bank A, $250,000 on deposit with Bank B and $250,000 on deposit with Bank C, and each of these deposits would be government guaranteed. The following table highlights the differences in rates available: Where to invest Well, I think it pays to stay relatively short (six to nine months) and avoid the middle part of the yield curve (one to two years) where it kinks. UBank has the pick of the six-month terms paying 6.01%, followed by Bank of Queensland offering 5.90%. Even the majors 06

at 5.50% aren’t too far off the pace. If you are more interested in the major banks, Westpac currently has an interesting special rate of 5.55% for a nine to 10-month term and this would take you out to February 2013. RaboBank continues to set the pace in the five-year term, paying 6.50% – a massive 0.80% premium to the major banks. When you consider that the five-year government bond is yielding only around 3.48%, this rate really stands out. While I think that government bond yields are heading higher over the medium term, there is a lot of protection built into this rate compared with the option of investing just for six months and then rolling over the term deposit every six months thereafter. Hard to go past.

Important information: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. For this reason, any individual should, before acting, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to the individual’s objectives, financial situation and needs and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice. 07

Two free services that help your SMSF stay compliant by Tony Negline As you might be aware, the Switzer Super Report gives you the ability to ask us questions. My job is to answer all the tricky regulatory cases you send in. In quite a few cases my response to a question is to encourage the questioner to approach the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and request either a ‘Private Binding Ruling’ (PBR) or ‘SMSF Specific Advice’. Based on the frequency of this answer, I’m going to tell everyone why applying for these documents may be a good course of action for you if you’re unsure about a transaction you would like to make for your fund. Before I deal with this point though, I need to explain the difference between PBRs and SMSF Specific Advice.

PBRs vs SMSF Specific Advice A PBR is issued when you ask the ATO questions about a specific tax law – for example, ‘Can I claim a tax deduction for my super contributions?’ The tax laws give you specific protection if you rely on the final version of a PBR as long as you’re using a ruling that relates to you and to current tax law. If the ATO’s interpretation in a ruling document is found to be wrong, for example, because of a Court decision or because the ATO changed its mind about how a particular law works, then the ATO can’t go back and claim tax and other penalties from you if you’ve relied on a faulty ruling. The tax laws don’t allow the ATO to issue PBRs in relation to the super laws, which is why SMSF Specific Advice documents have become necessary, but importantly, they aren’t binding on the ATO. The ATO reserves the right to change its mind, but it says it won’t take adverse action if you followed an SMSF Specific Advice document prior to any amendments. These documents solely look at the super laws; for example, is my business property ‘business real property’ as defined in the super laws? It costs nothing The advantage of asking the ATO for a PBR or Specific Advice is that the request can be made for free if you apply yourself.

It goes without saying that the major reason most of us are attracted to super is because of the tax concessions. But if we breach the super or tax laws, then the penalties can be severe. PBRs and SMSF Specific Advice documents therefore give us peace of mind – they allow us to complete or commence a transaction knowing that the ATO won’t take action against us if they later audit our super fund and find something wrong with that particular transaction. Word your question wisely A word of warning about these documents – the answer you get is only as good as the question that’s asked. When someone shows me a PBR or SMSF Specific Advice, I generally ask for a copy of the question that has been asked.

You apply for these rulings by completing specific application forms on the Tax Office website: Private Binding Rulings: http://www.ato.gov.au/taxprofessionals/content.asp x?menuid=0&doc=/content/34047.htm&page=12#P1 40_10770 SMSF Specific Advice: http://www.ato.gov.au/content/00206984.htm I suggest you only apply for these rulings before you commence a transaction. If by chance you apply for a 08

ruling after completing a transaction and the ATO says via the ruling that you’ve done something wrong, then clearly you’ll need to take some corrective action to fix it. Important information: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. For this reason, any individual should, before acting, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to the individual’s objectives, financial situation and needs and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice. 09

The broker wrap: four stock buys vs five sells by Rudi Filapek-Vandyck Over the last week, ratings downgrades by brokers in the FNArena database have again dominated upgrades to the tune of 11 to six. Of the upgrades, four stocks were lifted to Buy, offset by five Sells, leaving total Buy ratings at 50.38%. Change to broker recommendations in the past week Upgrades Among the upgrades was Amcor (AMC), where Citi moved to a Buy to account for the expectation of increased merger and acquisition activity. Austar (AUN) was also upgraded to Neutral by JP Morgan after it got the green light for the proposed merger with Foxtel. The lift in rating reflects the removal of previous concerns with respect to the deal being allowed to proceed. However, UBS downgraded its rating on Austar to Hold on valuation grounds because the approval drove the share price up to the broker’s target.

While David Jones (DJS) was hit with a couple of downgrades post its interim result last month, BA Merrill Lynch now sees enough value to upgrade it to Neutral. The call is strictly a value play since David Jones’ share price has underperformed the market by almost 40% over the past year. Another valuation-based upgrade was UBS’s lift of Fleetwood (FWD) to a Buy given a weak share price since the group’s interim result earlier this year. A shortage of resource sector accommodation should keep the company in focus in UBS’s view, while the attractive dividend is also expected to support the share price.

Strong leverage to iron ore prices and the fact the Karara project is on track to meet expectations has seen JP Morgan move to an Overweight rating on Gindalbie (GBG), supported by the current 20% discount to net present value. Another upgrade in the mining sector involved PanAust (PNA), where Credit Suisse has moved to Outperform post a solid quarterly report. Both the Phu Kham expansion and the development of the Ban Houayxai project are on track, while higher grades meant lower costs in the March quarter. Valuation has also improved given recent share price weakness. Downgrades ASX (ASX) was among the downgrades after Credit Suisse cut it to Underperform. The downgrade reflects current weak trading conditions, a trend the broker suggests has little chance of any significant turnaround in the short term. Credit Suisse also downgraded Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL) to Underperform following recent solid share price performance.

RBS Australia has moved to a Sell rating on Echo Entertainment (EGP) given the potential for some negative consequences from the Star redevelopment 10

to emerge in coming years. The broker is also uncertain as to the benefit of Crown’s (CWN) interest in the company. Macquarie has downgraded Gloucester Coal (GCL) to Sell after a review of its model, while Deutsche Bank has downgraded Investa Office (IOF) to Hold with its fiscal 2013 earnings now considered priced in. BA-ML has downgraded Lend Lease (LLC) to Sell, arguing the market has become too carried away with the stock, overlooking a poor acquisition track record and little news on potential buyers of the Barangaroo project. Cuts to forecasts leave the broker well below consensus with its estimates.

PMI Gold (PVM) was downgraded by JP Morgan to Neutral. While resource estimates have been increased, grades have been lowered. This is seen as having a potential ongoing impact on production levels. JP Morgan also lowered its rating on Seven Group Holdings (SVW) on valuation grounds, as while the Bucyrus deal is expected to be earnings accretive, the stock appears fully priced at current levels. Sandfire Resources (SFR) delivered a solid quarterly report but given subdued expectations for copper prices UBS has downgraded it to Hold, while Citi downgraded Super Retail (SUL) to Hold following share price gains of around 40% this year. Changes to earnings forecasts (EF) per share Note: FNArena monitors eight leading stockbrokers on a daily basis. These are: BA-Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Macquarie, RBS and UBS.

Important information: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. For this reason, any individual should, before acting, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to the individual’s objectives, financial situation and needs and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice. 11

Chart of the week: will the DAX keep falling? by Lance Lai I have spoken of the DAX, Germany’s main stock index, on three recent occasions and have correctly predicted its moves in broad terms: 1) Super TV, on Sky Business, 1 December 2011. In the chart below, ‘D’ marks the December appearance where I predicted that there would be a +7.7% target, illustrated with ‘T1′, followed by a second target shown at ‘T2′ for a 12% gain. You can see on the current chart below, the index has exceeded both my targets.

2) Switzer TV, on Sky Business, 1 February 2012. In the chart, ‘F’ marks the levels of the index at the time of the interview. I thought T1 was enough as the index was taking a long time to push higher and already looked already. I had underestimated the time it would take to get to T2 and higher. 3) Switzer TV, on Sky Business, 23 March 2012. The DAX was at 7,071 almost a month ago, which is marked ‘Mar’ on the chart. I predicted that the DAX would fall back to T2, which was 5% lower and then T1, which was 7% lower. Both these targets have now been met. Last Friday night the index closed at 6,583, hitting an intra-day low of 6,552. My T1 level of 6,571 representing a 7% fall has been met. Will the DAX fall further? Prediction: it should, after a consolidation here Based on the last close, the index is now at 6,583. So what on the chart reinforces my argument of a consolidation followed by further falls? My target levels of T2 and T1 have now been achieved in a short time frame of less than a month. The DAX needs to rest, otherwise further falls will indicate something more sinister in the wing.

I said in my March interview that the index could fall to the 200-day moving average at 6,270, or a fall of 11%, and we could expect that to be ‘normal’. I still hold to that view. The 200-day moving average is pointing down and, in fact, is now bending down more. This is not good, and is adding to my argument that the market could fall beyond 6,270. So expect lower levels than where we are now. The line in the sand is the ‘Big S’ below the horizontal line of 5,800, at around 5,664. Let’s hope I don’t have to contemplate a move below this level. This would be ugly, a 25% fall from my March appearance. What on the chart could appear to make me wrong?

That is, if the DAX doesn’t consolidate, but shoots up higher from here in the short term. Nothing much. To shoot up higher now in the weeks to come … that would surprise me. Quick wrap of my calls over the past five weeks: 10 April 2012: Telstra (TLS) buy at $3.31, not done, still waiting to be hit. Last week, the 12

lowest it got to was $3.33, be patient. Wait at $3.31. 2 April 2012: Gold buy $1,672, stopped out $1,631 for a loss of 2.5% on 4 April 2012. Position Closed. 26 March 2012: Shanghai Stock Exchange 2,349, short. (If you followed my interview on Switzer 22 March 2012, the Shanghai Stock Exchange was 2,375, short.) Closed out on 1 April 2,262, fall of 5% predicted. In that interview, the second BIG support marked “S” was in fact 2,262. Position Closed. 19 March 2012: Envestra (ENV) $0.80 (ex div 2.9c) = $0.771, buy. Now $0.795, up 3.1%. Position still open.

12 March 2012: Spark Infrastructure (SKI), $1.365, buy. Now $1.475, up 8%. Position still open. Please note: my views are not for the long term. My method results in views expressed that relate to an outlook that lasts weeks or at most months. For example, my view on Shanghai’s Index has for now been met and completed since 22 March 2012, 11 days later. Currently regards Shanghai, I am in a cautionary observant position. Your utilisation of this information needs to take into account the time frame I set. The stocks recommended as ‘steady as she goes’ may be held for the longer term, which for me means months.

Important information: This content has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. It does not constitute formal advice. For this reason, any individual should, before acting, consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to the individual’s objectives, financial situation and needs and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice. 13

Self-managed super funds (SMSFs) reported positive returns in the 2009-10 financial year compared with declines the previous two years, new figures from the Australian Tax Office show. There were around 456,000 SMSFs comprising 867,000 members as at 30 June 2011. The value of SMSF assets stood at $418 billion, accounting for 31% of total super assets. The ATO said there was a positive shift to listed shares at the end of the financial year, corresponding with a shift away from cash and term deposits. The data showed that SMSFs directly invested 77% of their assets, mainly in cash and term deposits and Australian listed shares (a total of over 60%). Smaller SMSFs tended to favour cash and term deposits, while larger SMSFs had a greater tendency to invest in listed shares. The data also showed that SMSF members are getting younger, although the general age remains skewed to more mature age groups.